League Foes to Battle For Division Title

New year, same old story. Every year at about this time, as the trees bud and the birdsong returns to Harvard Yard, the Ivy League baseball race heads into the last two weekends of the regular season without a clear winner in sight.

Last year, after splitting with Brown in its second-to-last weekend, the Crimson grabbed the Rofle Division title against Dartmouth in the final weekend of the regular season.

This year, Harvard (15-13-1, 9-3 Ivy) enters this weekend’s crucial series against the Bears (10-17, 8-4 Ivy) tied for first in the division with the Big Green. Yale and Brown, however, are only one game behind the division leaders with identical 8-4 records, and would like nothing more than to spoil the fun of the perennial division winners.

“If we don’t win these next two series,” sophomore Shawn Haviland said, “our season is over in two weeks, and I don’t think anyone wants that to happen. These kind of weekends are what we work for all winter and fall. It’s going to be disappointing if we don’t take this series from Brown.”

Haviland, the Crimson’s ace, plays a key role in ensuring that Harvard does, in fact, retain its league lead. The sophomore starter, who boasts a nasty curveball, has allowed only four runs over 15 innings in his last three games, and, along with freshman hurler Adam Cole, creates one of the best starting duos in the league.

The Crimson pitching staff, which ranks fourth in the league with a 5.70 ERA, hopes to silence the powerful bats of the Bears, who lead the league with a .313 batting average.

“Brown’s got a very potent lineup,” captain Morgan Brown said. “We’re very familiar with them. We split last year, and went 3-4 against them the year before that. Lots of the guys we have faced before. I think that the pitchers and coaches have a good game plan for them. Our pitching staff is a little stronger than other teams they’ve been walking all over, so I think we should be fine.”

Leading the Bears offensively are junior Brendan Tews and sophomore Jeff Dietz, who lead the league in hitting with averages of .406 and .387, respectively. They are followed not far behind by junior Devin Thomas and senior Paul Christian, who are in the top 10 in the league in batting average.

The Crimson, however, boasts quite a powerful lineup of its own. Sophomore Steffan Wilson and senior Lance Salsgiver are seventh and eight in the league in batting average, respectively, and senior Josh Klimkiewicz and Wilson lead the league in RBI’s. Yet, Harvard has struggled this year with inconsistent run support—often scoring few runs in the first game of a doubleheader before breaking out in the second.

“We’ve struggled a little bit with jumping out on them early in seven innings games,” Haviland said. “Coach Walsh emphasized that in practice, and we’ve been working on bunting, stealing, to get ahead of them early on in the game.”

The Crimson, meanwhile, may have a few tricks up its sleeve. Salsgiver, usually a starting outfielder, could potentially start his first game of the season on the mound this weekend, most likely in one of Sunday’s games. Salsgiver pitched two innings of one-hit relief against Northeastern in the first round of the Beanpot Tournament, and his teammates express complete confidence in his starting abilities.

“Having Lance start is one of the things the coaches talked about as an option,” Brown said. He’s phenomonenally talented in outfield and on the mound, and we want to maximize his ability. He could start; the coaches may or may not decide to do it. If he does, he’s very capable, and if not, we’ve got a lot of other great guys lined up. Lance is a competitor and senior—he will throw until his arm falls off. He’s been very effective this year in relief.”

Harvard will take on the Bears at 12 p.m. on Saturday. With a strong showing, the Crimson could establish a firm grasp on the Rolfe Division title. With Dartmouth and Yale also playing a four-game series, however, it’s anyone’s guess as to who will emerge from the weekend on top. One thing is for sure, though—in Ivy League baseball, it’s never easy.

—Staff writer Julie R.S. Fogarty can be reached at fogarty2@fas.harvard.edu.